


crack in the corner

by LadyPrince



Category: Starfighter (Comic)
Genre: Boys Kissing, Fluff, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 04:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17460236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyPrince/pseuds/LadyPrince
Summary: It isn't the first time Abel has had a stress-related breakdown and has fled to the hallways just to cry there. It is, however, the first time someone has actually comforted him during it.





	crack in the corner

**Author's Note:**

> DeiBel cute. I'm gonna write Deimos eating Abel's ass.

It says a lot, Abel thinks, that he doesn’t even know what it is that he is crying over. Just another rollercoaster of a day, he supposes, where he rushes out of whatever area he has been in – which in this case has been his shared room – and out into the hallway where he curls up and hides himself as much as he can and just _cries._

This isn’t the first time this has happened, and this won’t be the last time either. It is just an absolute _miracle_ that Cain hasn’t cottoned onto it yet, a blessing that Abel prays won’t go away any time soon – he doesn’t know how he is going to confront his Fighter about his constant breakdowns in the middle of hallways during times where no one else will stumble upon him and find him.

That is how it has been for a while now – just him and the world, the coldness of the floor and the stiffness of the walls – and the tears fall harder at the thought, with Abel curling even further into himself to try and hide. He buries his face into his knees, arms wrapping around his legs to get as small as possible, and he sobs and hiccups into his trousers while he sits there.

Time passes and he isn’t keeping track. He doesn't anymore, has it memorized now that these sessions normally take half an hour or more before the stress ebbs away and he can get up and go back to work, or go back to being a normal person. He just _hates_ it when they happen, a crippling sensation that slows his work down considerably and makes Keeler look at him with this lost expression on his face, because he has been making such _good progress – why the sudden stops?_ He never asks Abel anything however, it isn’t his business to anyway, and he nearly wails loudly when he realizes just how _sad_ that is.

His face must look ugly now; eyes puffy and reddened from all his crying, and yet he can’t bring himself to stop and get up. He just wants to go to sleep and forget all about this, deal with this on his own, and –

A heavy weight falls next to him with an audible thump, finally causing Abel to lift his head up, and he gasps in surprise when an arm wraps around him from his right. It settles on his waist and tugs him close, causing him to tumble away from his knees and instead into the chest of presence that has settled next to him, and when he looks up to see who it is he almost jerks away in instinct.

Deimos looks down at him, his face ever impassive and his eyes as dark as the galaxy they are floating listlessly in. His brow pinches together briefly when he gets a good look at Abel’s face, contemplates something for a good few moments, and he jolts when Deimos puts a hand on his knee and pushes. Shamefacedly, he looks down at Deimos’s stomach and stretches his legs out, then twists them so that he is facing the other Fighter properly, and Abel’s breath hitches when the hand on his knee moves up to stroke at his hair in approval.

Silence hangs over them, but it doesn’t force any more tears out of Abel, and he presses his face into Deimos’s chest after a few seconds. The arm around him tightens up, holding onto him near protectively, and Abel involuntarily relaxes. Deimos is still quiet, though Abel finds that that doesn’t bother him as much as he thinks it will. No, it is actually… comforting, nice, to be with someone who is quiet because they just _are_ and not because of –

“Thank you.” Abel manages out after a while, his lips pressing a kiss to Deimos’s chest unthinkingly, and the grip around him tenses up. His free hand returns to stroking his hair once more, running slender fingers through them, and Abel exhales softly. His eyes feel puffy and dry, surprising no one, but his chest doesn’t feel anxiously tight and he doesn’t think he is about to start bawling again, which is the real victory out of this entire thing. It is still _extremely_ embarrassing to be caught like this, to have the man who he thinks hates him be the one to comfort him – probably out of some sort of pity, maybe something else – and he wants to back away, apologize, and then run off.

A coil curls up tight in his belly, and there is a brief sting in his heart that makes him want to wriggle out of the half-embrace that Deimos has him in.

“I should probably leave you, now, right? I definitely should.” Abel says, trying to gently nudge Deimos to let go all while smiling sheepishly up at him, and the other man raises a curious eyebrow up at him. “I won’t let anyone know you helped me out, promise, I don’t think you’d want them to know anyway.” Abel tries to reason when Deimos doesn’t seem to be letting go, and both eyebrows rise up on the other man’s face at his words. “I mean, who is going to know, right?”

A gentle hand grabs at his chin to make him look up at Deimos proper and Abel feels almost like some sort of gem being appraised by a jeweller, which shouldn’t be as flattering as it feels. Deimos stares at him for a long time, then smiles gently at him and bends forward.

His lips are softer than Cain when he kisses Abel, his half-lidded eyes staring into his own wide, surprised ones, and he sits there rigid with shock for a moment or so. Deimos backs away, a small smile on his face, and Abel lets out a heavy breath of air as though he has just been punched in the gut, and looks back at the man with wide-eyed wonder.

“Ah…” he looks around, hoping no one is around to see this, and he near shyly leans forward to kiss Deimos once he is sure the coast is clear, and the other lets him. He still holds onto Abel, his arm a protective weight on his back, while the free hand is once more occupied with stroking his hair. The kiss he gives is chaste, and the kisses that Deimos peppers onto him after are still chaste, still sweet, not pushing any further, and Abel is red-faced from the realization. He feels… shy, stripped bare, further than he expects, just from the way Deimos looks at him.

Gentle eyes take him in, praising him just from the pleased glint, and Abel is hit with the odd urge to be good for Deimos. He sighs. “Thank you.” He says again, and Deimos’s eyes crinkle with amusement. “I… ah. Um. I have to go back to work, for real, though.” Abel says, and Deimos finally lets him go. “I won’t mention this to Cain,” he tries to reassure, though that makes Deimos’s expression fall and his eyes narrow, reminding him of that same look he has given Abel his entire duration here, “so you won’t get in trouble, I promise.” He wiggles away, stands, and wipes away the minuscule amount of dusts from his clothes then offers a hand to Deimos.

The slighter man’s grip is strong, stronger than Abel expects, when he grabs onto his hand and hauls himself up – then yanks him down with his hand alone, causing him to bend so that Deimos can kiss his mouth again.

Teeth sink in playfully down onto his lower lip, then let go, and Deimos gives him a tiny smile, waves at him, then his expression warps into being impassive once more and he makes his leave from Abel.

His lips feel like they are tingling, his face on fire, and his heart slams against his ribcage harshly. Fingers come up to stroke his lips, and Abel can’t help but grin happily – though he is quick to wipe the grin off when he remembers that he still looks like a mess of a man, and that he has to go back and wash his face then return to coding in his room while Cain is out and training.

Maybe there will be a next time where he runs into Deimos where he isn’t crying? Though, now that he thinks about it, what is Deimos doing here in the first place? He stops in the hallway and looks over his shoulder, hoping to catch onto something that will give him an answer, but there is only a quick shadow that disappears into another hallway to greet him and nothing more, and Abel wonders if he is being a bit too paranoid.

Whatever Deimos’s actions are that has led him to Abel that time, however, he hopes will let them meet again under better circumstances. One can hope.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Pillowfort. ](https://www.pillowfort.social/transistor) | [ Tumblr. ](https://transistories.tumblr.com/) | [Twitter.](https://twitter.com/EmptyHeartLover)


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